The Letter N

Today, it's the letter N.

New. New is one of the five "hot button" words in advertising. For some reason, our modern era has especially made us thirst for the new. Most of us like new insights, new products, new features, meeting new people, new technologies, new experiences.

There are some new things I do not like, though. Like when you're online and a new window pops up, and you have to close it to get it out of your way because you're working on something else.

Now. Now is another of the five "hot button" words in advertising. Call Now, the guy on the TV says. You don't want to miss this once in a lifetime opportunity, they urge. But as experience shows, another bus will be along in fifteen minutes.

Nightmares. When I was a kid I used to be into the mag Famous Monsters of Filmland. When my brother Ron was six I read him a story about Dracula that was in one of my magazines. Needless to say, that night he woke up with nightmares. And the next night, too, for a week. Mom was more than a little perturbed with me and I had to promise I would never do that again.

Never. Never is a long, long time. Vampires and zombies are back in vogue it seems. And it seems to me it's his wife that reads those kinds of stories to him now.

Norm's. Speaking of spooky stuff, on Halloween weekend at Norm's Beer & Brats there's a big event brewing, the 2010 Halloween Spookshow Spectacular. On the lower left side of the poster you can read, Live Painting By Artist Ennyman. I'll only be there Friday night, so if you're up for a spectacle, with live music and live painting, light shows and more, well... mark your calendars.

This will be my first live performance as a painter, though based on my experience making a few YouTube vids of me painting, I know the approach is different. You might say I'm getting pretty jazzed as I prepare my materials, including implements to paint with and surfaces to paint on.

Notch. A V-shaped slit or cut in an object or surface. Gunfighters used to put a notch in their guns when they shot someone. You might say this experience (live painting at Norm's) will be something new that is comparable to a notch on the gun for me. I suppose resumes are what we use to record the notches on our careers.

Noogie. A noogie (or nugie) is an aggressive poke or rub with the knuckles on another's head as a gesture of affection or annoyance. I remember in elementary school how some of the older kids gave noogie's to their little brothers. I was even envious to be ignored in that way. Even though they hated it, they were getting attention and I was left out. Strange how that works, isn't it.

Give someone a noogie today and let them know you love them. Or is that bullying?